1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wheels for vehicles and, more specifically, to a wheel ornamentation assembly for wheels of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide wheel ornamentation such as wheel caps and wheel covers for wheels of a vehicle such as an automotive vehicle to enhance appearance of the wheels. Wheel ornamentation is used because it is less expensive to manufacture, finish, and mount the wheel ornamentation to the wheel than to manufacture the wheel with the same quality finish of the wheel ornamentation. A chrome surface on the wheel ornamentation is an inexpensive alternative to a chrome plated or polished wheel. In addition, wheel ornamentation provide various types of appearances and styling variations, all of which may be combined with a single wheel design.
It is also known to manufacture the wheel ornamentation of a plastic material and attach the plastic wheel ornamentation to lug nuts of the wheel. An example of such a wheel ornamentation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,081 to Hauler et al. In this patent, an ornamental wheel cover is provided with a number of elongated tubular extensions axially projecting from the cover that are each partially slotted to provide cantilevered fingers. Each finger has an undercut groove that has a shoulder, which positively positions the cover to an upper shoulder of the lug nuts of the wheel. Below the undercut groove is a bulbous portion that contacts the lug nut below the flange and engages the underside of the flange, thereby retaining the cover on the lug nut.
One disadvantage of the above plastic wheel ornamentation is that the lug nuts are heated by the wheel as the wheel rotates, thereby heating the extensions of the plastic wheel ornamentation. As a result, the heated plastic relaxes, causing the retention force of the extensions to decrease. The decreased retention force of the extensions may result in the wheel ornamentation disengaging the wheel.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a retainer for a plastic wheel ornamentation to assist in retaining the wheel ornamentation to a wheel of a vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a retainer for a plastic wheel ornamentation to retain the wheel ornamentation to a wheel that adjusts tension for retaining the wheel ornamentation to the wheels. It is further desirable to provide a retainer that provides mechanical support for plastic wheel ornamentation to retain the wheel ornamentation to a wheel of a vehicle. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a wheel ornamentation assembly that meets these desires.